BETHEL PARK, Pa. — Three people were arrested after a detailed investigation on a house in Bethel Park with suspected connection to the Pagans Outlaw Motorcycle Gang (OMG) and narcotics activity.
According to the criminal complaint, Bethel Park police received a search warrant for the home at 2544 Highland Circle on April 12. The homeowner and resident, 36-year-old Joseph Roberts, is a known member of the Pagan’s Outlaw Motorcycle Gang (OMG) and is a sergeant-at-arms within the group.
The search warrant was executed the next day. Joseph Roberts was in the residence as well as Kristen Roberts, Steven Albertson and Christine Niedermeyer. All four were detained and three were taken to police cruisers. Kristen Roberts was held in the home because of a supposed chronic medical condition.
According to the criminal complaint, officers found drugs, firearms and Pagan’s OMG-branded items including clothing, ax handles and notebooks detailing meeting minutes and membership activity that was criminal in nature in the master bedroom belonging to Joseph Roberts and his girlfriend, 26-year-old Niedermeyer.
The criminal complaint said that in the basement, officers found drugs in what was identified as 38-year-old Albertson’s bedroom and weapons and explosive devices in the laundry room next door.
Officers also found drugs in Kristen Roberts’ bedroom, according to the criminal complaint.
An Allegheny County bomb technician was called to examine what was believed to be a pipe bomb from the basement. Under X-ray photography, the device was found to possess a possible powder charge, as well as fragmentation and/or anti-personnel objects.
The criminal complaint also said that some items, like explosive powder and ball bearings, couldn’t be seized because they exceeded the scope of the search warrant. A federal search warrant was then obtained and 10 more explosive components were found in the basement.
The explosives were later tested and samples from each device were submitted to the Allegheny County and a federal crime lab for analysis. There, it was found that if one or all of the explosives were to detonate, the results would be catastrophic, according to court documents.
A social media post from the Bethel Park Police Department said that Joseph Roberts, Niedermeyer and Albertson were charged with 11 counts of weapons of mass destruction, causing or risking a catastrophe, criminal conspiracy, and drug possession/paraphernalia charges.
All charges were held for trial at the preliminary hearing.
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